Knitting machine



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

A. WARD.

. KNITTINGMAGHINE. No. 280 886. y Patented July 10, 1883.

l I v :u: Y o

lL l, Nil

oooooooo 00000000 I 71 vento/1 3 Sheets-Sheet, 2.

(No Model.)

A. WARD.

KNITTING MAGHINB.

No. 280,886. PatentedJuly 10, 1883.

N. PETERS www. wuningm, n, c.

(No Mod-ell.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

A.. WARD.

Y KNlTTING MACHINE. No. 280,886. Patented July 10, 1888.

\ v y A l d j Z .s m Y L :L ll. o i 0 a 1. W g GD @D f3 Y@ Q 4 fzzesseayl y lieve/to?.

. PERES. Mutual-Amr. wnhinsmn, D, C.

ille-bar.

NET5

ArnNT ANTHONY WARD, or BROOKLYN, Nnw Yoan, AssieNon To ABRAHAM e.

JNNiNGs, OF sA'Mn'rLAon.

MACHINE.

SPECIFICATIN forming part Of Letters Patent N0. 280,885, dated July 10, 1583.

' Application filed october 24,1582. (No model.) "I

To all whom it may concern Be it known that l, ANTHONY WARD, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Knitting-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

Figure l is a side elevation of my improved knitting-machine3 Fig. `2, a front elevation of the same; Fig. 3, an enlarged sectional side view of the mechanism for raising and lowering the thread-carriers, the needles, and nee- Figs; 4 and 5 are detail views, showing the mechanism for shifting the thread-carriers longitudinally. Fig. 6 is a diagram or top view, showing the two rows of knittingneedles with' the threads placed around them in the order in which they are so placed by the machine. Fig. 7 is a diagram showing a modification thereof. Fig. 8 is. a vertical cross-section of the machine. Fig. 9 is avertical longitudinal section of a portion thereof. Fig. l0 is a detail view of a part thereof.

The object of this invention is to construct a machine on'which a certain kind of double knit-work can be produced-to wit, a fabric having distinct rows of knit meshes on each side, the rows on one side being practically independent of those on the other side, though connected therewith by oblique threads.

The invention consists in the mechanism hereinafter described for placing thethread around two series of knitting-needles, each series of needles having a vertical reciprooat ing movement imparted tol it, so that the meshes may be interlocked by lthe downward motion of the needles in manner usual with knitting-machines. The thread-carrying device for supplying the loops of the needles with thread has imparted to it a longitudinal movement,by which .it is enabled topass along each row of needles, and also a transverse movement, by which it is enabled to pass from one row of needles to the other, there being either one or more threadcarriers, according to the number of threads to be knit together into the same fabric. ln the accompanying drawings, the letter A. represents the frame of my machine'. Inv this frame are the bearings of the driving-shaft y B, which is .revolved in the direction of the arrow by steam-p ower or by any other known motor. transmitted by suitable gearing, which is shown in Fig. 1, to a shaft, C, which shaft Gis revolved slower than the shaftB in the direction of the arrow shown near it in Fig. 1. Upon the shaft- C are mounted two cams, a and t, which are not placed in the same plane, and which have for their object to vibrate two levers, D and E. The lever D is moved by the cam a and the lever E by the canili, said cams operating upon friction-rollers that are mounted upon said levers, as clearly indicated in Fig. S. To the ends of these leversD and E are respectively fastened the endslof a chain, F, which chain passes around a chain-wheel, d, that is mounted upon a shaft, G. As the shaft C revolves, the levers D and E are alternately depressed, by the cams a and b, rand thereby the ends of the chain 4F are alternately pulled up and down, respectively, so as to impart to the shaft Ga certain rotary reciprocating movement-- that is to say, the shaft G is first revolved in one direction when the lever D is depressed and then in the opposite direction when the lever E is depressed.4 This reciprocating rotar f motion of the shaft G is by gear-wheels transmitted to another shaft, H, which is hung in the upper part of the frame A, and which shaft H carries a worm, e, which meshes into a toothed rack, f, that is formed' on another shaft, l, which is hung parallel to the shafts G and H in the upper part of the frame A.

It will be perceived that the reciprocating rotary moti on of the shaft G, which is transmitted also tothe shaft H, will result in a longitudinally reciprocating movement of the shaft I through the action of the worm. At the same time that the shaft l is moved lengthwise in one direction or in the other it must also be oscillated. For this purpose an eccentric,I g, is mounted upon the shaft H, and is straddled From this shaft B the* rotary motion isv by the forked or hook-shaped projection of a Vthe shaftl, so that as the levers J and K are oscillated the crank 7' is likewise oscillated, and with it the shaft I, which is the same shaft to which the longitudinal reciprocating mo- IOO tion heretofore referred to is imparted by the worm. The wrist-pin t', which'enters the slot of the lever K, as shown in Fig. 10, must be of sufficient length to allow the parts j K to retain their connectionv during the longitudinal strokes of the shaft I. The said wrist-pin is more fully shown in Fig. 2. On the shaft I are one or a series of projecting arms, l, two being shown in Fig. 2, which arms are braced together by one or more suitable rods, m, and serve to support the thread-carrier. In Fig. 3 is shown a full face view of one of these arms Z, arranged to carry two thread' carriers, L and L2. used at one time. v

Each set of thread-carriers that is to be simultaneously moved, as hereinafter stated, is

united by and to a cross-bar, which traverses` slots in the arms Z, andvguides the thread-carriers in their up and down motion. If single thread-carriers are employed, whichwill hapt Y needles.

pen butseldom, they must be provided with headedsuspension-pins that extend through said slots in the arms Z.

1n Fig. 3 the thread-carrier 1121s shown toextend downward'below the-arm Z sufficientlyl far to serve asa thread-carriertfor placing the thread n aroundtwo sets, o and p, of

in a framing, M, and a set, p, in a framing, N. In each set Ithe needles are preferably in a straight row. In Fig. 6 is shown a dia-Y gram of the needles o o in one row, and the needles p p in the other row. One object of the machine is,while the shaft Cmakes halfa revolution, to place the. thread n in the zigzagorder while traversing, say, in the 'direction of the arrow Y-1, Fig. 7, first rounda/needle o, then round a needle`,p,v then back to the former ro'w,- around another' 'needle o, then around another needle p, &c. and on its returnstroke in the direction of the arrow 2, Fig. 7. When the shaft O makes the next half-revolution, the carrier is-to place thethread around the needles in the sameA zigzag fashion, and when the loops in the knitting-needles have been Ifilled with one layer of threads lthe needles in each row are depressed, firsty one row and then the other, thereby closing the latches over the threadv last inserted, slipping the loop formerly made over the same, whereupon the needles are lifted again, and thus placed in position for the reception of another row or layer of thread. y

When the threads are to be varied in the same fabric-that is to say, if they arel made of different kinds of colors of thread to be knit into the same fabric-the two thread-carriers L L2 are employed in the proper alternation,

iirst the one and then the other, each of saidthread-carriers being employed by itself only,

and taken out of the way when the other is to take its place. The manner of moving them automatically will now be described.

Each thread-carrier is tubular at its lowest part, so as to let the thread, which is taken from a suitable receptacle, O, pass through it Only oneof these is to be' The set vo of knitting-needles is fixed in manner indicated in Fig. 3, and is attached to a guide-bar at its upper-partfsaid guide-bar .passing througha slotinthe arm Z. When more than one thread-carrier is used on the same arm Z, each is a sliding lthread-carrier capable of moving up and down, together with said guide-bar, along .thefsuitable guide-slots or grooves provided for that purpose in the arm.

The tendency of v each thread-carrier of its own weight is to assume the lowermost positionlthat is, the/,position shown for the thread-carrier L2 in Fig. 3; but when it is not to be used it is pulled up as shown with .reference :to thecarrier Lf in Fig. 3. To effect this lift- .ing of the carrier which is not to be used, and ythe lowering of the carrier which is to be used,

its rock-shaft'intothe position shown in Fig.

3, the carrier -Lis taken, out of action and the carrier L? placed into action;fbut'when the beam tis swung so as to pull up the chain r andl slacken the chain s the positions of the thread-carriers are reversed. The z rock-shaft u, which carries' the beam t, has also a crank, u2, which connects by a link, c, with a lever,

w, that-has atoe or prong, resting lon a cam,

P. Thiscam ismounted upon the same shaft Pi' upon which is also mounted a ratchet-wheel P3. Into .this ratchet-*wheel enters the' point of a pusher-rod, I, which is connected with a lever, P5, that ispivoted to the framing A. Lifting-pins y, carrying friction-rollers, (or not,) rmly attached to a vtoothed wheel, P, which is mounted upon the shaft C, come underthe `lever P5' and lift itat proper intervals, thereby raising the ,pusher-rod I" and turning the ratchetwheel P3, and with it the cam P,.so as to cause the same to have an intermittent rotary motion imparted to it.

Thecaml is Iof such outline that when the portion farthest from its axis is in contact with the toe x the beam t will, be in one of its ex treme positions, and when the portion of the ca'm P which is; nearest to its axis is in contact `with the toe x the beam twill be in the opposite of its extreme; positions,and thus it is easily seen that, according to the pattern to bev produced, the cam P must-be shaped so as to ytilt the beam tat proper intervalsto bring either the one thread-carrier or the other into flplay. In either position the raised threadcarrier still retains the capability of slight upand-down play. In otherV words, the chain raising it is not quite taut, so vthat itwill not `interfere with: the traversing or rocking motion ofthe arm Zon the shaft I.

, Having now described how either the one thread-'carrier or the other is brought into action, and having also described that 4each threadcarrier, being suspended from the shaft I, must necessarily receive a longitudinal motion .with said shaft `from the worm e, and also and at the same time a. transverse or rocking.'

motion from the crank-connection j 13, it will IOO IIO

be clear that this motion will sufce to enable the thread-carrier to lay the thread in the zig,

zag order around the different needles o p, as indicated in Fig. 7, andA if the needles are ranged as in Fig. 6, and the speed of the threadcarriers correspondingly regulated, the threads will be laid in the zigzag-order around the alternate needles, as shown Vin said last-mentioned gure, and form of fabric shown there- 1o byproduced. It remains to show how the needles and their bars M N are depressed-and raised at the proper time.

The needle-bar M is shown raised in Fig. 8 and the needle-bar N lowered. The' bar M is i 5 connected by link b2 with a lever, d2, kwhich rests on a cam, e, that is mounted upon the shaft C, and in like manner the needle-bar N is connected by a link, f2, with a lever, g2, which rests on a cam, h?, that is'also mounted 2o upon said shaft C. The rotation of these cams e? and h2 will, as is evident from inspection of Fig. 8,-cause the needle-bars M and N to be alternately raised and lowered. Suitable bars for pulling the loops over the latches are fixed to the machine in manner customary to knit- Y ting-machines, which bars I either suspend by rods i2 (see Fig. 8) from the top ofthe machine or secure by suitable supports to the lower part of the machine. The fabric that is 3o knitted by this machine-is drawn down by suitable tension-rollers, f2 l?, to which intermittent rotary motion is imparted by connection with certainlinks m2 and ratchet-wheel n2 with the main shaft C, as shownin Fig. l. After 3 5 having passed these tension-rollers the fabric is wound, if desired, upon a suitable drum.

In Fig. 2 it is clearly shown that th'e'machine may be duplicated, or, rather, multiplied, so

. as to make at the same time in one frame a r 4o series of fabrics, side by side, the description hereinbefore given referring more particularly to the necessary mechanism for carrying the threads over the sets of needles requisite for one particular fabric and series of sets of needles, for series of fabrics may be secured in the same framing, as shown in Figs. 2 and 9. The fabricproduced on the machine has two distinct rows of meshes on the same plane-one row on one face and the other row on the rother face, the two rows of meshes being united by oblique threads.'

I claim- 1. The combination, with the two series of needles o p, of athread-carrier, L, and mechanism, substantially as described, Yfor moving said thread carrier longitudinally, transversely, and vertically, all-arranged for laying the thread in zigzag order, as specified.

r 2. Needles o p and needle-bars M N, comifjbined with mechanism, substantially as de- 6o scribed, for moving them up and down, and v with thread-carrier L, and mechanism, substantially as described, for moving the same lengthwise, crosswise, and vertically, as set forth. i ,f

,3. ,Thethread-carriers L and L2, combined with two rows of needles, o p, with the arm Z, with mechanism, substantially as described, for moving said arm Z longitudinally and laterally, and with mechanism, substantially as described, for raising and lowering said threadcarriers, as set forth.

a.A The combination of the shaft H and mechanism, substantially as described, for imparting rotary reciprocating motion to theV same, with the vworm e, rack f, shaft I, eccentric g, leveisJ K, and crank fi j, all arranged foi` imparting to said shaft I longitudinal reciprocating and at the same time oscillating motion, as set forth. 5. The combination ofY the shaft I- with mechanism, substantially as described, for rocking it and moving it longitudinally, and with arms Z, thread-carriers L L2, chains rs, and beam t, and with mechanism, substantially as described, for oscillating said beam, substantially as herein shown and described.

6. The combination, of the shaft C, wheel p2, provided with lifting-pins y, lever P5, rod I, ratchet-wheel P, cam l?, lever 'w x, link c, crank a2, shaft a, beam t, chains fr s, arms "Y, thread-carriers L L, and means for supporting the thread-carriers, substantially as herein shown and described.

' ANTHONY XVARD.

Vitnesses:

HARRY M. TURK, WILLY G. E. SCHULTZ. 

